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Kidney Stones and Orange Urine

Sunday morning I noticed a little burning when I urinated. Sunday afternoon I roamed the mall and found a giant bottle of Vitamin C with Cranberry, ran home and took two doses of it.

I felt better within a few hours. Better, but not good.

Monday and Tuesday were okay, but it was an extremely busy week, so I just gobbled vitamins and naproxen and hoped it would go away. By Tuesday night I was virtually in tears. I added half an ambien to the vitamin/naproxen cocktail hoping that I would just sleep through the pain, and knowing that I had Jane’s transition ceremony Wednesday morning. (tip: Ambien is not a pain killer, I didn’t sleep well but I was groggy all day Wednesday) I spent Wednesday morning delighted for my daughter, but still very uncomfortable. Going to the bathroom was excruciating. Finally, I called the doctor.

Of course my doctor does travelers medicine. I walked into the office at 2pm, exchanged pleasantries, and went into the bathroom to pee in a cup. The office is tiny, so when I walked back out, cup of urine in hand, I about bumped into a bride and her husband who were getting hepatitis vaccines for their trip to Bali. As I tried to hold back tears, the bride harangued the groom, wanting to know where they would vacation next year.

Because I am an adult I did not ask him what he thought his second wife might be like. Adulthood sucks.

Within moments my vitals were being taken, and then I was whisked into an exam room where I was asked about my menstrual cycle. The phase, “a significant amount of blood” was used. They asked if I had any pain in back, I said “not much,” and the physician’s assistant told me I had to use the prescriptions correctly, “We want to protect your kidneys.” I left with a prescription for antibiotics and something that turns your pee bright orange (Pyridium?), but numbs your bladder so you don’t think you’re dying every time you’re going to the bathroom.

Pyridium will freak your kids out. No matter how many times you flush the toilet it will still look like someone took a radioactive piss. No, I am not showing y’all pictures, I have the smallest bits of pride left (smallest really).

So, I made it to the pharmacy and gobbled Pyridium hoping for quick relief. I was back to the school by three, picked up both my kids, did an errand with them, and basically stuck them in front of the TV while I tried to not pass out. This was the weirdest infection ever.

Until I went to take a radioactive pee, felt like I was experiencing childbirth, only worse, hyperventilated and cried alone on the toilet and then heard *pling*.

The tiniest little rock-like thing was in my urine stream, and I swear to all that is holy, that numbing medicine might have saved me from a heart attack. I heard a sound come out of my mouth, but I still don’t know how I made it, or why.

I’m still really uncomfortable today, and my stepmother reminded me that I should have kept the stone for analysis. Which I totally would have done, were I willing to stick my hands into radioactive pee.

11 thoughts on “Kidney Stones and Orange Urine”

  1. Ouch. I know your pain – literally because I passed a stone two days before our trip out to LA. And double up your dose of Cranberry while on the antibiotics and for about a week after because you’re susceptible to a relapse infection.

  2. whoa! what an experience. congrats for surviving it all. from everything I’ve read, predisposition to kidney stones is genetic and not drinking enough fluids can encourage them. if you get another one (let’s hope you don’t) a doctor can break them up using sound waves — this allows you to pass it much less painfully!

    cranberry juice caution — make sure it’s not from concentrate and not that crazy stuff with corn syrup in it. all that extra sugar won’t help. health food stores have a capsule you can take that’s cranberry concentrate — a couple of those a day with lots of water can make your urine incredibly unfriendly for bacteria.

    i hope you feel better — that sounds awful! glad you didn’t go fishing in the radioactive pee.

  3. Kidney stones are the worst – they run in my family. They skipped myself (thankfully) but both parents and all four of my siblings have had them – both sisters had them several times throughout their pregnancies. I’m surprised they didn’t have you peeing with that mesh doodad that catches the stone(s) on its way out. Regardless, glad you passed it – hopefully it will be your last one.

  4. My dad has a problem with kidney stones. I don’t know how you survived it without narcotics. He has had them so bad he ended up in ICU. Finally they figured out it was our city water causing them. It has a huge amount of calcium in it. He used to have a lot of problems and then they moved to the country on a well for a few years and he had no problems. 6 months after moving back in to town he had multiple kidney stone problems. They put in an R.O. system and he hasn’t had a problem since. My mom even cooks with water from the R.O. and he only drinks bottled water at work. Maybe that will help you?

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